All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
A non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a functional RNA molecule that is not translated into a protein. Less-frequently used synonyms are non-protein-coding RNA (npcRNA), non-messenger RNA (nmRNA) and functional RNA (fRNA). The DNA sequence from which a non-coding RNA is transcribed is often called an RNA gene. Non-coding RNA genes include highly abundant and functionally important RNAs, such as transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), as well as RNAs such as snoRNAs, microRNAs, siRNAs, snRNAs, exRNAs, and piRNAs, and the long ncRNAs, such as Xist and HOTAIR. The number of ncRNAs encoded within the human genome is unknown, however recent transcriptomic and bioinformatic studies suggest the existence of thousands of ncRNAs.
During the last decade, significant attention has been directed towards the identification of novel small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs). Recently, sncRNAs derived from tRNAs were identified as functional molecules, and not as by-products from random degradation (See Phizicky, E. M. and A. K. Hopper, tRNA biology charges to the front Genes Dev, 2010. 24(17): p. 1832-60; Sobala, A. and G. Hutvagner, Transfer RNA-derived fragments: origins, processing, and functions Wiley Interdiscip Rev RNA, 2011. 2(6): p. 853-62; Maute, R. L., et al., tRNA-derived microRNA modulates proliferation and the DNA damage response and is down-regulated in B cell lymphoma. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2013. 110(4): p. 1404-9; and Lee, Y. S., et al. A novel class of small RNAs: tRNA-derived RNA fragments (tRFs). Genes Dev, 2009. 23(22): p. 2639-49, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety as though fully set forth).
There is a need in the art for diagnostic and therapeutic technologies based upon newly discovered ncRNAs and their respective functions.